Josef Mašín (26 August 1896 – 30 June 1942) was an army officer of

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

and member of the Czech underground resistance against the

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

. He was the father of Josef and Ctirad Mašín.

Biography

Josef Mašín was born in Lošany in

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

. He was a member of the

Czechoslovak Legions The Czechoslovak Legion (Czech: ''Československé legie''; Slovak: ''Československé légie'') were volunteer armed forces consisting predominantly of Czechs and Slovaks fighting on the side of the Entente powers during World War I and the ...

fighting in Russia (1916–1921) and later an officer in the Czechoslovak Army (commander of an artillery regiment). After the

occupation of Czechoslovakia Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment *Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces *Military occupation, th ...

by Nazi Germany he, together with Josef Balabán and Václav Morávek, formed a resistance group concentrated on intelligence gathering and sabotage. While more resistance groups existed, this one, aptly named ''

Three Kings In Christianity, the Biblical Magi ( or ; singular: ), also known as the Three Wise Men, Three Kings, and Three Magi, are distinguished foreigners who visit Jesus after his birth, bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh in homage to hi ...

'', is the most known among the Czech Republic. Mašín was captured by the

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

on 13 May 1941. After being tortured, he twice attempted suicide. As part of the German retaliatory measures for the assassination of

Reinhard Heydrich Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich ( , ; 7 March 1904 – 4 June 1942) was a German high-ranking SS and police official during the Nazi era and a principal architect of the Holocaust. He held the rank of SS-. Many historians regard Heydrich ...

he was shot and killed, aged 45. His body was disposed of at Strašnice Crematorium. His wife was imprisoned for several months. After the war, Josef Mašín received a posthumous promotion to brigadier general. His sons – then 13 and 15 years old – got Medals for "personal bravery during the war" from president

Edvard Beneš Edvard Beneš (; 28 May 1884 – 3 September 1948) was a Czech politician and statesman who served as the president of Czechoslovakia from 1935 to 1938, and again from 1939 to 1948. During the first six years of his second stint, he led the Czec ...

References

External links

Interview with Josef Mašín
in DVTV {{DEFAULTSORT:Masin, Josef 1896 births 1942 deaths People from Kolín District People from the Kingdom of Bohemia Czechoslovak generals Czechoslovak Legion personnel Czech resistance members Resistance members killed by Nazi Germany People executed at Kobylisy shooting range Recipients of the Milan Rastislav Stefanik Order Executed military leaders